


i have promises to keep (and miles to go before i sleep)

by Mai_Blade



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, Pseudo-Incest, Reader is Someone's Sister, Reader is a Twin, Reincarnation, Tags Contain Spoilers, especially not your twin, you don't interface with anyone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-06-27 12:58:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15685902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mai_Blade/pseuds/Mai_Blade
Summary: You don't want to be a liar, just so that he will never have to doubt your words.





	1. i won't lie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sweetsnow73](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetsnow73/gifts).



> I've been sucked back into the Transformers fandom and this madness is the result.
> 
> Later, I'm gonna post up Starscream/Reader Soulmate AUs, which are partially inspired by sweetsnow73 and whom I will credit when I get those posted.

**Twins**

On the planet of Cybertron, a routine sparking— _birth_ —is unexpectedly complicated by a sudden splitting of the formerly singular spark. This is a complication because there is not matching protoform available, so the twin will have to make due with a smaller protoform. The split spark alters the protoform into that of a femme.

The twins Starscream and Skymurmur online at the same time, and the first thing their optics turn to are each other.

( _ **mine**_ )

* * *

**Inseparable**

The twins spend the first part of their lives in almost constant companionship. Where Starscream is, Skymurmur is right behind him. Where Skymurmur is, Starscream is nearby.

As they age, they learn to grow comfortable with distance, but only because they can sense each other through their sparks, a connection they nurtured until losing sight of each other did not mean losing their closeness.

Eventually, for them, there is no distance.

* * *

**Divergence**

You are too small to be a combatant flier like your twin is, so your career paths, in the end, are different. He is an enforcer and protector, so you become a physician, the medic to his warrior.

You worry about him ( _if the moment comes, you want to help him_ ), so you throw yourself into reaching for being one of the best in Cybertron.

* * *

**Honesty**

You are not a liar, but rather you are bluntly honest, even when a lie or two would serve you better. You refuse to lie and will not lie, even if it is detrimental to _Starscream_ , the one who thinks you _should_ lie for him, and the one you feel guilty for not lying for.

You learn to preface first meetings with warnings not to discuss anything they wouldn’t want repeated, because if asked, you may end up divulging, though of course you will practice discretion ( _oh, how many a mech and femme Starscream has had to fend off_ ). At first, some try to feed you lies for you to repeat as truth, but Starscream, despite his irritation over your unwillingness to lie for even him, teaches you to follow up such repeated words with disclaimers, if not outright preface them.

Skymurmur is the femme who will not lie, so obviously, she is lying… but perhaps not…?

( _Starscream is forever torn between being amused and being consternated about his twin’s unrepentant truthfulness._ )

* * *

**Acquaintance**

Ratchet is a mech who is also learning how to become a physician. You meet him while pursuing your education, and, despite his pacifist stance, he is combat capable where you are not. He states his hope that you will never be put on a battlefield, not when even your medical equipment is pushing the limits of what your frame is capable of.

Starscream meets Ratchet, and he tells the latter that they _all_ have the ability to fight, regardless of their duties. They are all responsible for protecting the planet and the Allspark.

Even his non-combatant twin can contribute, in her own way.

* * *

**Oblivious**

Ratchet observes over time.

Skymurmur is a femme with a will larger than her own frame. Her EM field radiates her emotions, and she is unapologetic, reigning it in only in the medical buildings where it may disturb the others present. Ask her a question and she will give you an honest answer with her EM field supporting everything she says.

She is admirably dedicated to her education and she keeps him on his toes, challenging him when they disagree, but willing to apologize for being wrong. When he gets ahead, she is not far behind, utilizing her skills to catch up with him again.

( _You chose him as the measuring line, as the level of competence you had to achieve, maintain and, hopefully, surpass one day._ )

Ratchet would like to get to know her better, but Skymurmur’s optics are always turned towards her twin.

* * *

**Infamy**

Ratchet, who seems to be considering you for a friendship, introduces you to his friend Optimus. The other mech already knows you by your reputation as someone who will tell the truth, no matter how hard or tactless—though your unfortunate tell of not speaking when you have nothing good to say and would prefer to avoid saying anything is also known to him—but he welcomes the opportunity to get to know you personally.

You find him appealing, in a ‘I’d follow you if I wasn’t already dedicated to another’-sort of way.

* * *

**Change**

Following the attack from the Eshems Nebula, High Protector Megatron took his soldiers to retaliate, and Starscream went with him. Optimus was against the venture from the start, and, when asked, you sincerely tell him that you agree. This opinion seems to place you on their side of the matter, but if Starscream asks, you know you’re going to side with him, regardless of how you feel about the ideals of Cybertron’s society.

After maintaining your integrity of being truthful, nothing is more important to you than Starscream’s continued existence, thought his happiness does come in third, and he has told you more than once that having you by his side is essential to that very thing.

But, when the time comes, he pushes you towards being an Autobot for the purpose of espionage.

( _She tells him she will be a failure as a spy, as all someone needs to do is ask her a question about her loyalties, and he wants to shake some sense into her processor about the necessity of telling lies, but she refuses, and he fears that it will be her end._ )

* * *

**Truth**

Starscream lives up to his name and screams at you, demanding to know why you won’t lie, especially now when it is vital ( _to him_ ) that you adapt to survive the changes coming under Megatron’s vision.

You tell him that you don’t know why you are the way you are, only that you _are_. Deceit is ugly and truth hurts, but by refusing to lie, you can live with yourself.

He shakes you, servos gripping painfully tight and claw tips scratching your paint. He literally tries to shake some sense into your brain module, but you will not be moved.

Not even when he directs a blaster at your helm and says, almost to himself, that off-lining you here and now would be a mercy.

* * *

**Immoveable**

“Do you care for me at all?”

“I care for you the most out of anyone.”

“Do you remember what you told me, what you keep telling me, every time I have a hard day?”

“’I care for you. As long as I live, be secure in knowing that someone cares for you deeply.’”

“And yet, you will not lie for me?”

“Dear brother… I would not lie to save myself, nor would I lie to save you.”

“ _Why?_ ”

“It’s just the way I am.”

( _He left, blaster withdrawn, stalking in anger—_

 _Spark aching at the thought of her inevitable end._ )

* * *

**Distant**

Through your twin bond, you feel his anger and frustration, tinged with grief. You radiate comfort and reassurance, only to have him pull away.

Your spark pulses with hurt, but aside from distant guilt, he doesn’t open up again.

( _He remains distant, but because you are twins, he cannot close to you completely, and for that small mercy, you are grateful._ )

* * *

**Choice**

Optimus asks you if you have sided with Megatron. You tell him,

“No. I have always, and will always, side with Starscream.”

He takes this as your alignment with the Decepticons and will not speak to you unless he had reason to.

* * *

**War**

Civil war breaks out, and what will be centuries worth of battles begins. You see the beginning of the descent of your race with your own optics, and you wonder if you will live to see the end.

In this climate, perhaps it is for the best that you did not find either an Amica Endura or a Conjunx Endura. You are uncertain as to whether you could have endured the spark break if you lost them in one of the countless battles.

As it is, you live in constant dread of losing Starscream.

( _Who fears the reverse, more with each passing comment from Megatron who questions the loyalty of someone who claims to never lie, and even that of Starscream’s, for being the twin of the one who will not lie._ )

* * *

**Medic**

Being a failure at spying on Optimus’s faction, Megatron puts you to work as a medic for the Decepticons. Through the dulled bond with your twin, you feel his relief and worry.

Sometimes you are put on the battlefield, and Starscream sends one of his soldiers to escort you when he can, which is more than half of every battle you’ve had to help out in, much to the annoyance of whoever is stuck with you.

One time you are alone, and ambushed from behind, left wounded to fall into stasis.

( _Starscream feels the bond flicker and panics, making a mistake that loses the Decepticons a supply of energon, and Megatron gets angry, but Starscream doesn’t care, not when **she’s so far.**_ **)**

* * *

**Bombshell**

She survives, and he is there when she activates her optics again, a blue so different from his own red.

They are twins, already connected, but it’s not enough, not when he realizes just how much she means to him. He asks her to be his Amica Endura, the only one he would ever consider opening his spark up to.

She declines.

“I do not want to be your Amica Endura, Starscream.”

And it _hurts_ , because all his life she’s the only one he never had to hide from, at least, not before the war started. So it turns out that he’s not good enough for even her, the only one who never said she’d lie to him, when in fact all along that’s all she’d been doing?!

Rage and hurt blaze in his spark, and he opens his intake to spew scathing words and denounce her as a liar, but—

“I want to be your Conjunx Endura.”

_What?_

* * *

**Only**

You are open to receive an Amica Endura—had been considering Ratchet as such—but the only Conjunx Endura you could ever envision was and has always been only Starscream.

He is your first memory, your longest memory, the one closest and dearest. 

He is your guiding beacon, the reason you are who you are ( _you won’t lie because he already does, and you have always wanted him to hear you speak and know that all you say is true so that he never has to second-guess or doubt you_ ).

He is the one whom you share your thoughts and secrets, the one whose most important thoughts and secrets you retain, keeping your silence when asked about those or deflecting instead.

You see him; the way he lets down his guard around you, the truth of who he is beneath the face plate he puts on for everyone else.

You know him; his worries, his philosophies, his annoyances, his vexations, his dreams, and his ambitions.

You feel him; even muted and dull, the twin bond remains and lets through his feelings of triumph, fear, and everything else that he strongly experiences.

_You want him._

* * *

**Rejected**

He rejects you without a second thought, and then you are alone, his muted panic and horror through the bond even further away than usual.

You thought it might be like this.

But you won’t lie, not even to save yourself.

( _He tries not to sense her pain, but that is all that is coming through, an ache that throbs his own spark and **he won’t** , not her, not the one he loves the most, just not **like that.**_ )

* * *

**Spared**

Many battles later, you are once again caught by surprise, and once again, you think this might be your end.

( ** _Starscream_** )

“Wait!”

It’s Ratchet.

You are not an Autobot, he agrees, but neither are you a true Decepticon.

He convinces your attacker to let you live another day, but only because Optimus Prime agreed over the comm. Your assailant leaves first, telling the medic to be careful. Lifting yourself up from your prone position, you call after Ratchet as he departs.

“Thank you.”

He pauses and looks back at you. In the distance, battle can be heard.

“You shouldn’t be out here.”

( _’I’m worried about you,’ he means._

 _‘You’re not combat-capable,’ you hear._ )

The corners of your dermas quirk upwards in a joyless grin.

“None of us should be.”

( _You both hear Starscream’s long ago words, but you both take away different things._ )

* * *

**Debt**

It is a stroke of fate that one day, the life of one of Ratchet’s friends rests in your servos.

The mech, Ironhide, is badly damaged when you come across him while searching for salvageable Decepticon soldiers. You recognize him from one of the few meetings you had with Ratchet before the war, a mech briefly introduced to you who was eager to show off his cannons.

He recognizes you in turn, but as Starscream’s twin.

As the twin of the Second-in-Command of the Decepticons.

You barely manage to dodge his defiant cannon blast, and even then your paint is badly blackened, and your left side is uncomfortably hot.

You hear him cursing and you hear the tell-tale sounds of a weapon malfunction. Cautiously, you slowly emerge from your hiding place, and he spews his defiance, snarling at you to go ahead and call your ‘Decepticon allies’.

The notion never crossed your mind.

( _Ratchet’s friend, save them_ )

* * *

**Aid**

He mech-handles you, though, when you near him, and you end up pinned with your arms behind your back and his heavy weight leaning on you. He doesn’t offline you on the spot though, so you count that as permission to continue trying to convince him that you’re there to help him, not turn him in to the Decepticons (which you probably should, since Starscream is not only your twin but your superior in the chain of command).

( _He remembers that this might be one of Ratchet’s friends, and even if this is a war, he’s not looking forward to explaining why he killed her when she wasn’t even expected at the battlefield, but if she makes a move to report him or attack him, then he’ll just have to apologize to his friend._ )

Eventually, he grudgingly grants you permission to fix him just enough that he can get out of there on his own. He does not and will never trust a Decepticon ally to properly fix him up.

“Well, you will be in good servos with Ratchet.”

For the most part, he is silent as you work on his damaged right tibulen and cadulen, wary optics kept locked on you, ready to shove you away at the slightest hint of you deliberately damaging him, but at one point he finally asks, “Will you tell them you aided an Autobot?”

“If I am specifically asked, yes.”

He is incredulous. “Why? Why risk your life like that? Surely you intend to lie when the moment comes. There’s no way you are actually as truthful as Optimus and Ratchet say.”

You paused in your work and lined your optics with his.

“I will not lie to save my life.”

His optics narrowed. “Would you lie to save _any_ life?”

“I would not. Not even for Starscream.”

He doesn’t say anything else, so you return to his wound. As the end of the rudimentary job nears, his voice is cold and condemning.

“You are your own sort of evil.”

You think of Starscream, and the anguish you have caused him.

( _There is sorrow and heavy acknowledgment in her voice._ )

“I know.”

* * *

**In the end that was the choice you made, and it doesn't matter how hard it was to make it. It matters that you did.**

**~Cassandra Clare, City of Glass**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahaha. I don't even know.
> 
> But I'm having fun anyway.
> 
> STARSCREAM, Y U SO ATTRACTIVE????


	2. i have a sister

**Weak**

She was weak in every way.

( _a weakness, too, but she was **his** , and no one could contest her place in his spark or his in hers _)__

There was no room for weakness in the Decepticons.

( _deep down, with the war, they had both known her end was inevitable, whether by their side or the Autobots_ )

There was no place for traitors who would let wounded Autobots go unreported.

( _ **six** , that fool let **six Autobots** go, **including** that scrap metal mech Ironhide_ )

Lord Megatron needed to punish her, and he also needed to test Starscream’s loyalty.

( _he wanted to punish his Second-in-Command_ )

Starscream would not be weak.

* * *

**Glitch**

He came to see you, while you were locked in the brig awaiting Lord Megatron’s decision. Sitting in the corner, you stared over at him where he stood just inside the door.

( _twin, **mine**_ )

“Why didn’t you lie?” His faceplates twist. “Why won’t you ever _lie?_ ” He strode over and grabbed your arms, shaking you and hissing. “Will deactivation finally cure you of this—this _glitch?_ ”

( _he doubts it_ )

The bond, tightly closed from his end, opens; rage, frustration, _helplessness_.

“You _fool_ , Skymurmur.”

* * *

**Gaze**

His twin’s blue optics are locked with his own. She looks as though as she has things to say, things to tell him, but they both know that the walls have ears.

( _usually, he doesn’t care much about Soundwave being around, but he can’t afford weakness right now—or ever again_ )

She smiles at him, infuriatingly sad and gentle.

( _before the war, he didn’t hate her expressive face or her unrelenting honesty, but it’s different now, and **why didn’t she change when she had the chance—**_ )

She speaks.

* * *

**Pledge**

“The Well will not keep me from you forever.”

* * *

**Farewell**

Words.

Foolish and empty words.

( _but she never lies_ )

But the last thing she ever says to him isn’t that. 

No, it’s—

“ _Live_ , Starscream.”

* * *

**Public**

It’s not often that the Decepticons make a live announcement, so one of the few times they do, everyone who can stops to watch. This time it is one of their public executions, but there is only one prisoner and not one bearing the Autobot symbol, so it is either a neutral or another Decepticon.

Ratchet recognizes the femme immediately. It takes Optimus a few nanokliks more to remember, and Ironhide is right behind him.

Skymurmur, Starscream’s twin, is going to be executed by her own allies.

If Ratchet’s servos tighten at his side, no one comments.

* * *

**Cruelty**

Megatron declares her crimes for all to hear. For letting six Autobots go, her life is forfeit.

And Starscream shall carry out the penalty.

( _disgust and fury burn along his wires as Ratchet bears witness to one twin repeatedly striking the other after asking questions that get truthful answers—why won’t she **lie** —and it goes on until Skymurmur is visibly battered, but he can’t look when a blade is finally given to the Second-in-Command to finish the job_)

He beats his twin until Megatron is satisfied, and with derision on his faceplates, Starscream plunges the given sword into her back, piercing the spark within and deactivating his own sister.

( _better him than somebot else, **better him than somebot else**_ )

* * *

**Alone**

Megatron gives him a backhanded compliment about his loyalty, and after the due sycophantic simpering towards his leader, Starscream eventually manages to retreat to his temporary hab suite.

His twin is not there to greet him, nor will she come through the doors at a later time.

( _lively steps that accompany her approach towards him, the smile she gives only to him_ )

Her frame lies abandoned where she fell, to be left to rust on the spot or carted off to be melted or tossed into a Pit-forsaken alley to rust there. Skymurmur will not tread the medical bay, nor will her alt form race through the skies, weaponless, but one of the fastest in Cybertron. 

( _she will not brighten his existence again_ )

He stands in the darkness for time untold, her final private words repeating in his processor, the only thing that got him through that tragedy.

_:“_ Live, _Starscream.”:_

* * *

**Millennia**

He lives.

( ** _he dies inside_** )

He lives without her.

There is no one on the other end of his bond. He feels it keenly, fresh, as though she only died a solar cycle ago instead of… well, long, long ago.

The Decepticon cause has gone on, and the war… no one won the war. The Autobots would rather doom their own planet than see the Decepticons victorious. Madness.

( _he lives without her, and they call him spark-less, cold, **unfeeling**_

_he lives without her because she asked him to because he clings to his ambitions and he will not let the Well take him before he sees them achieved_ )

All the Autobots have done is delayed the inevitable.

The AllSpark has been located, and after a false start on the fourth planet in this backwater solar system, they are on their way.

Victory will finally belong to the Decepticons.

* * *

**Unexpected**

They planned for a single child but ended up with twins.

The eldest was a boy, and they named him Samuel James.

The youngest was a girl, and they named her Samantha Julia.

The second child, the youngest twin, was unplanned, but she was just as precious to them as her elder brother was. They had one son and one daughter, so wasn’t it perfect in the end?

( _Sammy and Sammie_ )

She loved them both and made that fact clear.

He loved them too, but couldn’t help rolling his eyes sometimes at his wife’s antics.

They were a family.

They were the Witwicky family.

* * *

**Different**

Samuel is normal baby, loud and loveable, with wide curious eyes and grabby hands.

Samantha is a quiet baby, and she stares with almost unsettling understanding, but her tiny hands grasp just as snugly as her brother does.

Samuel is the first to pass every baby milestone, and Samantha is quick to imitate him. It’s strange, though, because it almost seems as though everything Samuel does, Samantha does better.

Shaking her head, Judy pushed the strange thought from her mind. These were her precious babies. 

So what if Samantha was a different?

* * *

**Genius**

The twins are four years old, but they’re as different as night and day. Samuel is a normal boy, ready for preschool and the journey of learning. Samantha, on the other hand, already knows how to read, write and do math, division and multiplication. Samantha skips most of grade school and by the end of their first school year, she’s ready to start high school.

She is _five years old._

Ron is ecstatic to have a genius for a daughter, but Judy can’t help feeling as though she’s missed her daughter’s childhood. Samantha is mostly self-sufficient and Judy thinks that if her little girl was old enough, she’d be driving herself around. She can’t help thinking that Samantha only _humors_ Judy’s mothering tendencies.

In the end, Samantha is Ron’s favorite and Samuel is Judy’s favorite. At least her little boy acts like a child. Samantha is like a tiny adult that dumbs down her language so her own parents aren’t asking ‘what’ every other sentence.

By the age of seven, Samantha has graduated high school and is taking on-line college courses because there’s no way they’re letting their small, nine-year-old move out to university.

By the time she’s nine, though, Samantha has arranged to leave the house, leaving them no room to counter-argue her points, not when she dismisses sentimentality and declarations such as ‘You’re just a child’. She moves several hours away to attend the California Institute of Technology. Judy cries, saying that day came nine years too soon, and even Ron is a little reluctant to let her go.

( _she is a genius, but she is still just a **child**_ )

Samantha barely spares them a goodbye wave when they back the car out of the driveway of her new homestay. Samuel is torn between being jealous of his sister and not wanting to leave her there, but it’s Samantha’s choice to stay.

“She can’t tell me stories anymore.”

Judy shared a glance with Ron. It’s true that Samantha told stories to Samuel, but…

“I thought you said she didn’t tell you bedtime stories anymore.”

Their son flushed. “She doesn’t! I’m not a baby!” He sulked. “She told me stories outside in the backyard.”

Right, sometimes she’d look outside and see the twins hanging out on the steps. So that’s what they’d been doing. They always told her they were talking about other things, not stories.

Samuel stared forlornly out the window.

“I’m going to miss Sammie.”

“She’s not gone forever,” Judy said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. “She’ll be back for Christmas and holidays.”

And she is, but before the first Christmas, their little girl is already making news with just how intelligent she really is. 

Still, to them, she is and will always be a Witwicky.

* * *

**Wings**

By the time Samantha is thirteen, she has Bachelors in Computer and Information Sciences, Computational Mathematics, Mathematics, and General Engineering, and is working on Masters towards those. When Ron complains about the cost of her schooling, Samantha develops new technology for filtering water, eliminating what she calls ‘plastic beads’, and suddenly their little girl is on magazine covers, hailed for the genius she is.

( _it’s only the first of what she’ll make_ )

None of the Witwickys know how to interact with her after that. Her invention covers the cost of her schooling and she immerses herself back into her studies, coming home only for Christmas and summer break. Ron is content to let her be, though sometimes he can’t stop himself from comparing Samuel to his sister. Judy loves her daughter, but she doesn’t understand the girl at all. As for her elder twin, Samuel knows that Samantha has grown distant from him, especially since he stopped asking her for stories when they were eleven.

Samantha Witwicky brings fame to the family name, but she just keeps flying further and further out of sight. Both Ron and Judy can’t help but suspect that she’ll disappear completely just as soon as she turns eighteen.

Her brother Samuel tries not to think about that at all.

( _he’s not very successful_ )

* * *

**Sold**

Years later, as a teenager, knowing that his first car was on the line, Sam made a fateful phone call after posting on eBay. Sweat slowly formed on his palms and forehead as the phone rang. After six rings, his sister picked up.

“Good day, Samuel James. Why are you calling?”

Rolling his eyes at his sister’s everlasting habit of calling him by his full name, he explained the reason for his call. “I just posted our great-great-grandpa’s stuff on eBay.”

“You fool.”

He winced at her cold tone. Oh yeah, he made her mad. Quickly, he blurted out his eBay handle and he heard keyboard clicks from her end of the line. A couple minutes passed before his younger twin spoke again.

“I have placed a bid.”

Nervously, Sam refreshed the page. When it loaded he had to refresh it again.

He choked. “A-are you serious?”

“It is for your first car, right?”

She sounded amused, a rarity for any of the Witwickys to hear.

“Father is going to regret promising to match your half of the payment, I bet.”

Sam laughed, sitting back in his chair as he ran a hand through his hair. There on the screen, for the whole collection of their great-grandfather’s stuff, was a bid of twenty thousand dollars.

“You had better sell it to me now, Samuel James.”

The amusement was gone from her voice and he scrambled to obey. 

“Uh, sure thing, Sammie—Samantha! Samantha Julia!”

“I will trust you in that, Samuel James. Send them to me by post. Have a nice day.”

“You too!”

The dial tone in his ear confirms that she’s hung up on him, so he hung up and put down his phone. Grinning widely, he went to his settings and confirmed an early sale to a high bidder. When the page finished loaded, confirming that the deed was done, Sam jumped up from his chair with a happy yell.

“This is going to be _awesome!_ ”

( _Ron is not amused, but Judy makes him keep his promise_ )

* * *

**Guardian**

The Allspark is on Earth, and the only clue is an eBay page declaring a sold item. LadiesMan217 was registered to Samuel James Witwicky. Bumblebee was sent ahead to be the boy’s guardian, to protect him until the Autobots could arrive. They knew everything there was to know about him: where he lived, the names of his parents and sister (an abnormally intelligent human studying away from home), even which school he went to. Bumblebee would find him and hide near him.

When he arrived, though, getting rid of the boy’s original car was the hardest part.

Still, Bumblebee found that he rather liked the yellow and black colors.

* * *

**Robot**

Things went perfectly fine for the first day of driving his new car. He sent off his sister’s highly paid for items, got to pick up Mikaela and drive her home—screwy radio glitches aside—and frankly Sam thought everything was finally going his way for once.

And then someone _stole his brand new car._

When Sam burst out of the house to chase after his supposedly stolen car, he did not, in a million years, ever expect to see it _stand up in the shape of a robot_.

( _and he remembered his sister by his side, weaving stories for him and him alone_ )

Said robot, if he had heard, would have never in a million years ever expect a human to say (well, choke out), “ _Cybertronian_.”

* * *

**Stories**

Growing up, despite being born first, he always felt as though his twin sister was the older one. She always seemed to have the answer or know what to do when something came up. She was the brave one, the smart one ( _the favorite one_ ).

When he was scared or in danger of either being bullied or coming to harm, she was there. Maybe begrudgingly, and often just… _distant_ , but Samantha Julia Witwicky could be counted on eight times out of ten to come to his rescue, and, on the occasions she wasn’t there, could be counted on to take revenge.

Horrible, excessive, possibly homicidal revenge that he doesn’t think about or talk about, not to anyone.

( _he doesn’t think about the older man from three blocks over who nearly ran him over when they were thirteen while she was away, or how one day he suddenly wasn’t around anymore, sometime after he blithely mentioned it while they were chatting online_ )

Wait, giant robot. His car is a giant robot. 

_Focus_ , Sam. 

You’ve heard of those before and from one person.

…Okay, yes, he’s also heard of giant robots in those Japanese cartoons, but this is different! He can feel it. He knows what his car is, because while those Japanese cartoons mention robots, they’ve always been the source of his sister’s scorn because of the stories she used to tell him.

How did she start some of her stories?

_‘Once upon a time, light years away, there was a planet in an age of golden peace. This planet was called Cybertron, and its inhabitants Cybertronians…’_

He grew up listening to her stories (right up until he asked her to stop because he was ‘too old’ for story time). Those tales she wove that seemed to have no end, that world she painted for him so vividly, back when he believed in everything she said. He remembered asking her who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.

_‘Were the Autobots good and the Decepticons evil? Well… if you, as a human, had to choose an ally, I would recommend choosing an Autobot. A Decepticon is most likely to only ever betray you eventually.’_

Okay, if he was to take his sister’s words as gospel, was his car an Autobot or a Decepticon?

An ally, or an enemy?

( _in retrospect, maybe he should have called her instead of the police_ )

* * *

**Flee**

Alright, so he doesn’t have the guts to confront his car.

…God that sounds weird.

He should probably call Sammie. His car is a thing from her stories, so she’d probably know what to do, right? Although, come to think of it, how exactly did she come to make up stories about real aliens? Or is his car a Japanese thing? Yeah, it’s probably Japanese…

And now said car is chasing him.

Forget what his sister said! He’s not waiting around to find out whether this thing is friendly or not! He’s got to lead it away from home and get in contact with the army or something.

( _things don’t go according to plan, and it turns out his car is the helpful one while the police car is pure evil—go figure_ )

* * *

**Recognition**

Standing in an alleyway and having numerous Cybertronians reveal their true forms to him, before any of them could speak, Sam couldn’t help but ask.

“So, this might just be me being optimistic, but since you’re not currently trying to squish us, I guess that makes you guys Autobots?”

They seemed to freeze at his words, surprised by his question. Then, the one that transformed from an 18-wheeler knelt down and asked him, “How do you know that term?”

Oh boy. He really didn’t think that through, did he? What was he supposed to say, ‘My sister made up stories about aliens like you?’

He sweated. “A-are you going to hurt the person is question…?”

The 18-wheeler Autobot was firm. “We do not kill humans.”

That wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but again, his sister’s stories came back to him. Staring hard at the Autobot before him, Sam asked, “Are you… Are you Optimus Prime?”

The Autobot reeled back slightly. 

Suddenly one form cannons at the end of its arms and was pointing them at him. “How do you know that name!”

“Ironhide, stand down!”

The Autobot, Ironhide, grumbled as he did so. The 18-wheeler turned his attention back to Sam.

“Yes, I am Optimus Prime. We are here looking for the Allspark.”

Sam paled. “Wait. Does that mean the Decepticons are coming here too?”

Optimus Prime was grave. “They are already here.”

* * *

**Protect**

Optimus recounted the war and of how the Allspark was lost. Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, had followed it to Earth. His ancestor, Archibald Witwicky, found the frozen Megatron, and from there had ‘intertwined’ their fates.

Sam’s mind was in turmoil. How did Sammie know all this? Granted, she never mentioned how the war consumed Cybertron or that the Allspark had been lost, but she had mentioned a lot of things, including several Autobots right here in this alley! He ran both hands over his head as Optimus came to the part where the Cube’s location had been imprinted on Archibald’s glasses.

“Oh man. That’s not good.” 

His stomach clenched as he confessed what happened to the glasses.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t know about any of this. Those glasses—I’ve already sent them away in the mail.”

The leader of the Autobots was grave. “Where will the glasses be arriving?”

He hesitated. Optimus said they don’t kill humans, but this was his sister they were asking him to lead them to. Sammie was a genius and she somehow knew about Autobots and Decepticons, but she was still _his sister_. He didn’t want to bring danger to her doorstep.

Sensing his hesitation, Optimus spoke. “Sam. Those glasses hold the key to Earth’s survival.”

Well damn. There’s not really much he can say against that, is there?

He frantically searched his pockets. “There’s someone I need to call.”

Mikaela was incredulous. “You were just told that the glasses you sent through the post hold the key to Earth’s survival, not to mention there are real aliens right here, and you want to make a _call?_ Sam, this is not the time!”

He insisted, “No, really, I have to make a call. My sister—she’s the one I sent the glasses to.”

Just before Sam confirmed that he didn’t have his phone on him, Optimus spoke up. “Samantha Julia Witwicky’s location has been confirmed. We will go—“

“No!” Sam glared up at the Autobot leader. “You will not bring danger to her! I almost got killed by a Decepticon today! Stay away from her!” 

( _cold, aloof, distant, but not always, he remembers she can be kind and protective, and they are twins, both Witwickys_ )

He twitched as Optimus looked down on him and added, “Please.”

Optimus looked regretful. “Sometimes it is unavoidable that bystanders will become involved in our struggle against the Decepticons. I am sorry, Samuel James Witwicky. I cannot grant your request. However, you can come with us.”

Sam clenched his hands. “Then I will. I need to get my phone from home, but we can go right after that.”

Optimus considered his words. “Very well. Autobots, move out!”

* * *

**Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.**

**~Lemony Snicket**


	3. i am here reluctantly

**Grass**

Ron was disgruntled when he saw his son coming home through the back yard, _not_ stepping on the path he made for a specific purpose.

“Sam, your sister stays off the grass. Why can’t you stay off the grass?”

His son apologized for stepping on the grass and then proceeded to wheedle out of getting grounded for coming home late. His wife saw right through him and Ron couldn’t help but grin. His daughter was his favorite, but that didn’t mean he lacked a soft spot for his only son.

Besides, it was nice to treat one of his kids like the kid they were supposed to be.

* * *

**Window**

Sam was sweaty, but he didn’t even pause to wash his face as he tore through his room in a frantic search for his phone. Finding it, he sighed in relief before grabbing a sweater to throw over his head. 

Securing his phone in his pocket, he then proceeded to climb out of one of his bedroom windows as quietly as he could manage. Mom and Dad would never approve of him leaving the house again this late at night, so sneaking out it was. Carefully lowering himself to the room of the first floor, Sam dropped down as quietly as he could manage.

“Oh, shi—!”

His footing slipped, but he caught himself and even managed to stifled the surprised shout that nearly gave him away. Heart pounding, Sam listened for sounds coming from inside the house. When his parents didn’t come to investigate the noise, he sighed in relief before proceeding to carefully lower himself from the roof.

Dropping down onto the grass—and silently giving his dad another apology—Sam quickly darted off across the yard and back to the waiting Autobots. Slipping back into the driver’s seat in Bumblebee, he let out a sigh of relief as the car started up on its own.

It was a couple minutes before Mikaela asked the question he didn’t really want to answer.

“Are you going to call her or what?”

* * *

**Call**

Six rings, as usual, and then his sister’s voice is greeting him, slightly frosty due to the late hour of the call. Although, he can hardly be blamed for the lateness, right? Really, time just flies before you know it, and besides, the fate of the world was riding on the glasses he sent to her.

“Given the late hour of this call, I assume you have something important to discuss, Samuel James. Has one of the family suffered an accident or suddenly died?”

He swallowed. “Ah, n-no, no one’s died or been in any accidents. I’m sorry to call you at such a late hour, but I promise that it’s important.”

“Speak, then.”

He took a deep breath.

“So. Remember those stories you used to tell me, you know, about Cyber—“

“ _Silence_ , Witwicky! There are words you must not speak over an unsecured line, and my stories to you may be among those.”

She called him ‘Witwicky’, shorter to yell than ‘Samuel James’ when speed is of the essence, and usually an indicator that the usually unflappable Samantha has become flapped over something. She also raised her voice at him rather quickly, another indicator that she takes her reason just now very seriously.

“Try again, Samuel James, without sensitive information.”

He stammered as he tried to think of a way to convey the seriousness of the situation. Instead, his brilliant mind latched on to the easiest thing.

“I need the glasses back!”

A dial tone came from his phone, making him groan and rub a hand over his face as he lowered the one holding the phone.

Mikaela was staring at him from the passenger seat. “What? Why did she hang up on you like that? I get that she bought those from you on eBay, but—“

“She paid me twenty-thousand dollars.”

Mikaela gaped. “ _Twenty—?_ Is your sister a lawyer or something?”

He clutched his phone. “She’s the same age as me, and she’ s a student at the California Institute of Technology. She’s been a genius since she was a kid. Surely you’ve heard of her at least once?”

She thought about it. “…Yeah, come to think of it, maybe? I don’t remember where I heard or read it, but I think heard of her at least once. I didn’t think much of it since it didn’t interest me. She invented a water filter or something, right?”

“More or less,” he replied lowly, using his phone to call his sister again.

Alright, this time he’ll ease his request into the conversation.

Assuming she didn’t just hang up on him or not even pick up, of course.

* * *

**Problematic**

Your phone rang again as you stared at it. Sitting in your pajamas, you let it ring. While waiting for the sixth ring before picking it up, your mind raced.

Why would your elder twin want the glasses back? You bought them from his fair and square for a sum of twenty-thousand American dollars. You doubt he would be able to refund you that amount, not when you know he already purchased his first car.

Glancing at the shelf displaying Archibald Witwicky’s possessions—which had come in just that day—you frowned as you answered the phone. Hanging up had been a childish reaction, so you would at least hear him out this time.

“Samuel James.”

“Look, I know it’s inconsiderate of me—beyond inconsiderate—but I really do need those glasses back. It’s… it’s _important_ , Sammie.”

You despised being called Sammie. Samuel was not helping his case.

He seemed to realize this. “Oh, shoot, I mean Samantha!”

He sighed, sounding tired.

“Look, this might sound crazy, but there’s something imprinted on those glasses.”

He continued talking, dodging saying any names, but he reiterated that it was important that he get those glasses back. You were only half listening because how would your entirely human twin know about the coordinates imprinted on Archibald’s glasses?

Hearing a pause, you calmly asked him a vital question.

“Are you in danger of immediate harm?”

“What? No.” 

The confusion in his voice was honest. Wherever he was, he felt safe. Coupled with the fact that he nearly mentioned your stories about Cybertron over an open line, not to mention the repeated insistence that the glasses were important…

“Did my stories come to life?”

_Are you with a Cybertronian?_

His voice brightened, catching on to your meaning. “Yes! But it’s the good guys, I swear. I mean, you remember when I asked you who was good and evil, and you gave me that answer? Remember?”

You did remember. You had dodged the question but advised him to choose an Autobot as an ally over a Decepticon.

“I recall,” you replied, free hand slowly tightening into a fist.

So, did this mean that Cybertron’s war had extended beyond the planet?

_Slag-blasted **glitches**_ , you thought heatedly.

The war was already bad at the time of your death! How much worse did it get after that? Why were Autobots on Earth?

_Why did they have Samuel?_

“A moment, Samuel James.”

Opening your laptop, you immediately opened two tabs, both for Google Maps, and typed in directions from both the Witwicky home and your current address to Hoover Dam. Seeing that both you would have to take Interstate 15 to get to Hoover Dam, you chose a location that was close to it.

“I will meet you at Glen Helen Regional Park. I will be in the dark green Jeep Wrangler.”

“Wait, wha—“

Hanging up on him, you stood up and proceeded to quickly change out of your pajamas and into a clean set of clothing. Throwing on a zip-up hoodie, you grabbed the glasses, your phone, wallet and car keys before quietly heading out. Your homestay guardians were still up watching the late news, but by the time they realized you were leaving, your Jeep was already backing down the driveway.

Fighting back a yawn, you mentally grumbled about the needs of a biological body as you ignored the two adults trying to wave you down. Glen Helen Regional Park was a little over an hour’s drive away, assuming there were no traffic accidents or other delays to slow you down.

Truthfully, you didn’t really want to go, but—despite being a poor replacement for both Starscream and a few other twins in your multiple lifetimes that you had become fond of—Samuel James was still your brother in this lifetime. As he had yet to completely alienate himself from you, delivering a pair of glasses in the dead of night wasn’t too much to ask for.

Although on the other hand, you didn’t want to meet up with Autobots. Oh well, it’s not as though you had to tell them that you used to be a Cybertronian, right?

* * *

**Mystery**

Optimus Prime hadn’t been happy when Bumblebee communicated the summary of Sam’s phone call with his sister, but at least it seemed as though the glasses were on their way. Parked in his alt mode with the others parked nearby, Optimus couldn’t help but hear Sam and Mikaela talking. The subjects they discussed were of little interest to him, but then came the subject of Sam’s sister, Samantha Julia Witwicky.

On the drive to the regional park, Optimus had done some more research on the human female in question. Samantha was considered a child genius and a prodigy. In her short lifetime, she had developed multiple inventions which were meant to improve the quality of life for others. She has lived at the same homestay since first leaving the Witwicky household to attend the California Institute of Technology, going home only for holidays and summer breaks. From what he gleaned, Samantha was not a common individual, though not exactly someone of great interest to him or his Autobots.

Why, then, did she know of them?

It was what wasn’t said about her that made him curious. Before Sam admitted that his sister had the glasses, he had been concerned for her safety. Understandable, given that he and the Autobots stand tall above him and can utilize weapons with ease. From Sam’s reactions during their initial conversation, Optimus was of the opinion that the reason Sam knew both his name and the term ‘Autobots’ was because of his younger twin.

“So your sister, Samantha, is she really coming here?”

Sam nodded, leaning against Bumblebee as he and Mikaela stood outside. “She told me to come here. It was implied that she would bring the glasses.”

Mikaela was skeptical and Optimus found himself sharing her opinion. “So she didn’t actually say she was bringing them?”

Sam folded his arms. “She told me to come here and I told her more than once that the glasses were important. She’ll bring them.”

“But she didn’t _say_ she would.”

“I trust her,” Sam said simply, pushing off of Bumblebee to walk for a few steps. He paused and looked up at the night sky. “My sister doesn’t lie, and I can count on her. Yeah, maybe she’ll be annoyed and maybe inconvenienced, but when I need her, she’ll be there. She’s like that.”

“Everyone lies, Sam.”

“Not Sammie. Sammie wouldn’t lie to spare our own mother’s feelings. She’s always saying that: ‘I won’t lie.’”

( _didn’t Ratchet know a femme who used to say that?_ )

“And you know what? She’s said it often enough that every single one of us Witwickys believes her. If she says she didn’t do something, then that’s that. Because, if you ask her, she’ll either confess to doing it or rat out the person who did.”

“So she’s a nark.”

Sam spun, glaring at Mikaela. He opened his mouth but words didn’t come out. At last, his shoulders slumped and he shrugged. “Yeah, I guess she is.” He grinned wryly. “So don’t commit a crime in front of her or ask her to lie for you. She won’t, and she’ll tell on you if someone asks her the right question.”

“Must’ve been difficult, growing up with someone like that.”

Sam snorted. “I could never get away with anything if she saw me do something and our parents asked about it. Yeah, I resented her, and I still kinda do sometimes, but… she’s my sister. I didn’t actually have a lot of time with her, you know? As soon as we started school, she was running so far ahead of me that I could barely see her. Even now, it’s like she’s already gone from our house and only comes back to visit because she isn’t eighteen yet.”

He walked back to Bumblebee and leaned against the Autobot. “She used to tell me stories.” He glanced over at Optimus. “I grew up listening to her tell me about alien worlds, and Cybertron was the one she told me about the most.”

Looking back up at the sky, he began reciting. “ _‘Once upon a time, light years away, there was a planet in an age of golden peace. This planet was called Cybertron…_ ’” He turned his gaze from the stars back down to Optimus. “That’s where I heard your name, Optimus, and Megatron’s too. I heard about the start of the war, of the horrors that came with it, but this is the first I’ve heard of the war consuming your planet, and of the Allspark being thrown into space. I—“

He stopped dead, and after a moment of silence, Bumblebee used his radio to convey his concern.

Mikaela asked, “What is it, Sam?”

Sagging against Bumblebee, Sam asked in a hoarse voice. “If Sammie never lies, not even about her stories, does that make all of them real? She told me about—I don’t even remember _how many_ worlds.” 

He met Mikaela’s gaze.

“She never lies, Mikaela. _Never._ ”

Just then, a pair of headlights was seen through the trees.

* * *

**Avoidance**

Sam watched as a Jeep drove into the parking lot. Caught in the headlights, he lifted a hand to guard against the bright light. Soon, the Jeep parked nearby and a person stepped out.

“Samuel James?”

“Samm—antha!”

He left Bumblebee and went over to meet her as she came around her vehicle. “Did you bring the glasses?”

“I have them.” 

She raised a familiar case, making him sigh in relief. He looked over at the flame-painted Autobot and called, “Optimus! She has them!”

The parking lot then filled with the sound of the Autobots transforming. Soon there were five fully transformed Autobots standing across from them. Like before with him, Optimus knelt down to lower his face to their level.

“Samantha Julia Witwicky, I am Optimus Prime. Will you give me those glasses?”

“I will, though I would like it if I could get them back, if possible.”

He nodded, and she opened the case in her hands, allowing Sam to pick up the glasses, unfolding the temples before holding them out. Gingerly, Optimus took them from him and stood up.

Blue lasers shot from Optimus’s eyes, hitting the glasses and making a hologram appear. Sam breathed, “Whoa…”

“I’m envious,” Samantha admitted quietly from next to him. “It took me _ages_ to figure out how to do that at home.”

He blinked, remembering that she once borrowed those same glasses not long after he first got them. He looked at her, “Wait. So when I showed you those when Dad gave them to me…?”

She nodded. “I saw the imperfections for what they were: coordinates.”

He stressed, “ _How?_ ” She looked at him and he elaborated. “How do you know all this stuff, Sammie? Cybertron, the Autobots, and now those glasses—how could you possibly know about all that?”

( _his sister is an enigma, and he thinks she always has been and he just never realized until today_ )

She didn’t say anything.

That’s how she never lies: by never speaking when she would have to.

* * *

**Taken**

Optimus knelt down and held out the glasses to his sister. “Thank you, Samantha.”

( _she was averting her eyes, and aside from a lingering glance at his medical officer, she was doing her best to look right through them_ )

She nodded at him as she carefully took the glasses from his large, metal fingers. He stared at her as she stowed the glasses back away in their case, and once she had put it in her pocket, he spoke.

“Samantha Julia Witwicky.”

She lifted her eyes, and Sam shifted closer to her.

“Sam says you have told him stories about Cybertron, and of the Autobots and the Decepticons. Tell me, how do you know of those things?”

She stared at a point on his face plate but wasn’t meeting his optics. “I am not inclined to answer your questions, and you have somewhere to go, Optimus Prime. I suggest you make haste—“

The ringing of a phone cut through her words and she dug a hand into her other pocket. “Excuse me.”

As she flipped her cellphone open, Optimus leaned back and observed her. Whatever her story was, she certainly didn’t treat him with any reverence or awe. At the moment, by human terms in this particular part of the world, she was being somewhat rude to him, or so Optimus gathered from the way Sam was whispering at Samantha to put the phone down and ‘stop ignoring Optimus’.

Samantha’s free hand suddenly snapped up to clamp onto her brother’s shoulder.

“Samuel James.” She tilted her phone so that he could see the screen. Her voice was flat.

“Why have shady people in suits taken our parents?”

* * *

**Responsibility**

Optimus stepped back as Sam and Samantha started arguing about the apparent kidnapping of their parents. She was blaming him and he was trying to defend himself.

“You went home after direct contact with the Autobots, didn’t you?”

“Bumblebee is my guardian! I could hardly _avoid_ it. And what do you mean I led them there? I never even saw one nearby!”

“Samuel James Witwicky, your lack of paranoia concerns me sometimes. Enough. Our parents have been taken away, and it is probably not a far stretch to think that these people have tried to collect myself from my homestay as well. I cannot return until this matter is resolved. I am annoyed, and you are fortunate I already submitted the essays due this week.”

Sam leaned away from her. “Uh, right. That’s, that’s good?”

She folded her arms and turned her eyes back on the assembled Autobots. “Our lives have been affected by your interference. Take responsibility.”

Sam hissed at her. “You can’t just tell a group of giant robots to ‘take responsibility’!”

“I just did.”

Optimus felt this was an opportunity to get more information out of Samantha. Besides, if their parents really were taken because of the presence of the Autobots on this planet, he did feel a sense of responsibility to these children.

“Very well. The three of you may come with us for now.”

Samantha immediate returned to her vehicle and began digging around in the backseat. Sam glanced at them before hurrying over to his sister.

Ironhide spoke up. “Is that wise, Optimus? Once the Decepticons catch on to our location, the Earthlings will be caught up in our battle.”

_They may not survive_ was left unsaid.

As he watched, Samantha tossed a small case into Sam’s chest before she crawled further into her vehicle. Optimus quietly answered his weapons specialist.

“No, it is not wise. However, unless we abandon them, we have little choice.”

His orders got Sam involved, and by extension, both Mikaela and Samantha. The girl wasn’t wrong to call him out on it.

* * *

**Stowaway**

Why was it that Samantha could choose the worst moments to be childish?

“Unless our parents are in the front, I’m not riding in the backseat.”

Putting an arm on Bumblebee’s roof, Sam leaned forward and pleaded. “Sammie, please just get in the backseat.”

“Are you deaf, Samuel James?”

Why was she being difficult about this? He couldn’t make Mikaela sit in the back!

He tried a different track. “Why aren’t you taking your Jeep Wrangler?”

She frowned at him. “Driving when impaired is unwise. Do you wish to see me die because I fell asleep at the wheel?”

Abashed, he recoiled slightly. “ _No._ ”

“It’s fine, Sam,” Mikaela said, stepping forward. “I don’t mind sitting in the back.”

“Wait.”

For a moment, Sam felt a spark of hope—

“We should all remove the batteries from our phones and ditch said cellphones.”

—Only for it to get snuffed out immediately.

Mikaela looked at his sister. “You don’t believe that people can track cellphones, do you?”

His sister was not amused. “We are about to board an alien. Why would such a thing be so thinkable? This is a precaution one we wouldn’t have to take if _someone_ hadn’t led those people straight to our door.”

He scowled over at her. “I didn’t do it on purpose, Sammie.”

“How many times must I tell you not to call me that?” His sister shook her head and pulled out her cellphone.

Grumbling, he copied her actions and saw Mikaela doing the same.

“What the—!”

Head snapping up at Mikaela’s startled shout, he saw a flash of silver as Mikaela dropped something while both she and his sister leapt back. Mikaela shouted again.

“Argh, you again?!”

Sam reared back as Bumblebee started transforming. Across the shifting machinery, Sam saw Mikaela keeping Sammie behind her as they quickly walked backwards. It was then that Sam heard the unpleasant chattering he had heard only once before.

It was the mini-robot!

As Bumblebee finished transforming, Mikaela took an opportunity to kick at something on the ground. Sam heard a mechanic shriek as something flew through the air. Bumblebee’s arm shifted into a weapon, and the next thing Sam knew the Autobot was shooting at the ground, trying to hit something that was scuttling around.

The other Autobots had transformed back from their alt modes at this point, and Ironhide added his cannons to the mix. Sam was certain he wasn’t the only one screaming as he tried to clear the area, but thankfully the commotion didn’t last long.

“Got ‘em!”

Bumblebee sulked at Ironhide’s triumphant cry. A recorded voice clip came from his radio, denouncing the other Autobot. “ _Kill stealer!_ ”

Hurrying around the two Autobots, Sam rushed to Mikaela. “Are you alright? What was that just now?”

Mikaela was staring at the various scorch marks in the parking lot. “I-It was the mini-robot again. You know, the one that pulled off your pants?”

He saw Sammie smirk at him over Mikaela’s shoulder. Blushing, he ignored her and let go of Mikaela’s shoulders. “Oh. Well, they got him, so that’s good.”

She huffed. “Yeah.”

* * *

**To be persuasive we must be believable;  
to be believable we must be creditable;  
to be credible we must be truthful.**

**~Edward R. Murrow**


End file.
